June - OzCon

June 2009
Keep your sense of humour despite fickle weather and politicians
From the President
We had to postpone our summer BBQ at the
Naturfreunde Club on Alte Donau because of the
fickle spring weather. It was a nuisance for those
who planned to go, but perhaps it was not such a
bad thing afterall.
It was earlier than usual because all the Saturdays
in June were already booked. And the water is still
cold so swimming was always going to be only a
possibility. But it was also a holiday weekend and
some people who wanted to come along were out
of town.
So we are working on a date later in summer when
we run the risk that people will be away on
summer holidays, but the weather is more reliable.
For the benefit of our new members, summer is a
time when many people go away and so our
activities tend to be restricted to our monthly bar
night, which will be at Flanagan’s once again on
Friday 19 June. We also combine the July and
August newsletters into one.
However, we can still organise things if enough
people want to take part. One such possibility is a
visit to the wetlands in the Donau Auen National
Park just south of Vienna. I visited the park with a
group last month and found it to be both
educational and fun and so I have written an article
which appears on pages 5 and 6. If I hear that
people would like to do the same (minimum of 10
is required) we will see if we can organise a trip.
For those of you who may still be financially
dependent on events back in Australia, you are
probably aware that the Federal Budget was
brought down last month. I guess others might be
saying, ‘who cares?’ Well, I have done a summary
Page 1
anyway for those who do care while those who
don’t can just skip the pages.
After writing the summary and trying to absorb all
the bad news and what it might all mean, I was
interested to read a report later in the month that
Australia stands out as an island of calm amid the
global economic storm despite pessimistic
government and media responses.
According to a survey of 7500 people in more than
24 nations conducted for Servcorp, a provider of
virtual and serviced offices that operates in 61
nations, one in five international businesspeople
cited Australia as the country best surviving the
recession.
Australia placed first in the survey, ahead of China,
with India and Singapore in equal third place. New
Zealand also fared well, ranked ninth.
The April survey was aimed at gauging business
sentiment and what impact the economic downturn
has had on businesses globally. Australian
businesspeople appeared relatively unaffected,
according to the poll.
I am not sure what it all means. But it sounds
positive and perhaps the Australian economy might
not be depressed as much as the government has
predicted in its budget. As an old political hack, I
remain conscious of the fact that governments
always like to predict doom and gloom (when not
facing an election), and say things are going to be
shocking. And then when -- surprise, surprise -they aren’t, the populous sings the government’s
praises for saving the day. Don’t you just love
politics?
All is well as long as you keep your sense of
humour. -- Brett
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
• New Parents - 18 weeks
•
•
•
Budget deficit soars, people to
work longer and unemployment to
grow.
But there are some plusses in
the 2009 Budget
By Brett Bayly
Belt-tightening for years to come, a huge deficit,
cuts to private health rebates and an extension of
the retirement age to 67 are some of the features of
the 2009-10 Federal Budget delivered by Treasurer
Wayne Swan on 12 May.
Unemployment, currently around 5.4 per cent, is
forecast to rise to 8.25 per cent by 2011. The deficit is
forecast to reach $57.6bn and economic growth to fall
-0.5 of GDP.
But there are plusses. Pensioners get rises, Australia
will change the way it makes electricity, with new
solar power plants and cleaner coal facilities to be
built with a $5.4bn clean energy initiative, a new paid
parental leave plan will start in 2011 and $22bn will
be spent on new infrastructure. Inflation will average
less than 2 per cent.
THE WINNERS
• Retirees - Pensioners are the budget's biggest
winners. They pocket an extra $32.49 per week for
singles, while couples will get a $10.14 a week
increase.
• Infrastructure - $22 billion will be spent on major
road and rail projects.
• Unemployed - $1.5 billion on jobs and training to
help the jobless become employed
Page 2
•
of government-paid
parental leave for those
earning less than
$150,000 from the start
of 2011
First Home Buyers - First
home owners grant boost to be extended for
another six months, but at a reduced rate after
three months. From October until December this
year the grant will be reduced from $14,000 to
$10,500 for established homes, and from $21,000
to $14,000 for newly built homes.
Carers - will receive a $600-a-year supplement, per
person under care
Small Businesses - will get a $2.7bn temporary tax
break
Environmentalists will support the $4.5bn clean
energy initiative
THE LOSERS
• Pensioners born after 1952 - These retirees will be
•
•
•
•
•
the first affected by the pension qualifying age
increasing by two years to 67. The qualifying age
will increase in six monthly increments between
2017 and 2023.
Workers - unemployment is expected to reach 8.5
per cent, or about one million Australians in 2011
The Government - who faces a $210 billion fall in
revenue due to the collapse in the mining boom
and the global financial crisis.
High-income earners
and health - access to
the 30 per cent private
health insurance rebate
will be means tested
with the level tapering
down for singles earning
more than $74,000 and combined family incomes
of $150,000 a year.
The Wealthy - Medicare levy surcharge increases
Super concessions - The caps on superannuation
concessions will be lowered from $50,000 to
$25,000, and from $100,000 to $50,000 for over
50s.
Source--THE AUSTRALIAN
Here are extracts from how some of the Australian
newspapers reported the Budget.
THE AUSTRALIAN
MINISTERS face years of painful belt-tightening
with no funds available for election promises as the
Government deals with the biggest collapse in its
revenue since the Great Depression. Treasury says
total tax revenue this year will fall $23 billion short of
forecasts it made in its budget 12 months ago.
"This is estimated to be the largest fall in receipts
compared to the budget year forecast since 1930-31,"
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
the budget papers say.
The shortfall in 2009-10 is even greater at $46.3
billion. An expected flood of revenue from company
tax, capital gains and superannuation funds has
evaporated.
Treasury is forecasting a run of budget deficits,
peaking this year at $57.6 billion. Equivalent to 4.9
per cent of the economy, it is the biggest deficit at
least since World War II.
Farewells and welcomes at
Flanagan’s bar night
Our room at Flanagan’s Irish Pub was filled with 30
or more members and guests last month in one of the
best-attended bar nights for some time.
BRISBANE TIMES
IN a sign that recent global economic events have
truly begun to bite in Australia, the Government
forecast a massive drop in tax revenues, which are
now likely to diminish by $210 billion over the next
four years, almost $10 billion more than the most
recent figures announced in February.
The 2009 budget strips back benefits for the wealthier
Australians who will be forced to shoulder much of
the burden of the global recession.
The long-standing 30 per cent private health insurance
rebate will be reduced for those earning more than
$75,000 and tax breaks on salary sacrificed into
superannuation will be scaled back.
DAILY TELEGRAPH HUNDREDS of thousands of families - including
those on low incomes - will lose family payments
under major changes that will save the Rudd
Government billions of dollars.
And more than one million higher income earners will
be worse off as a result of the Government's changes
to the private health insurance rebate, announced in
tonight's Budget.
Some of the younger members
This was partly due to the fact that some people who
have been members for a long time but have not been
able to get along on a Friday evening were able to join
us. They included George and Meredith Park, Peter
Waggitt and Peter Korcsek.
Phillip Prideaux joined us for the first time. Phillip
and his wife Catherine Martin have just become
members and Phillip was accompanied by his
daughter Melissa who was visiting from Paris. AND it
was his birthday so this was given appropriate
recognition.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD HEALTH has come under the axe in this year's
budget, delivering almost as much in savings as
promised in new health infrastructure funding. One in
ten Australians will have their private health insurance
rebates reduced or scrapped altogether, while others
will pay more for their private obstetrics, IVF and
cataract treatments, after the Government delivered on
expected cut threatened cuts to the $51 billion
portfolio.
(See page 10 for budget comment)
Birthday boy Phillip Prideaux (left) with departing members
Sharon Tiainen and Chris Cubitt
Page 3
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
But it was also a case of saying farewell and wishing
bon voyage to Chris Cubbit and Sharon Tiainen, who
joined us last year. They flew back to Australia on the
Monday after the bar night.
There were also a couple of recent arrivals and we
hope they decide to join us in due course.
Phillip Prideaux’s daughter Melissa with Liz Crawford
Michael Altenburger, Brett Bayly and Suzanne Prissmann
June Bar Night
This month’s bar night will be on Friday 19th June at
Flanagan’s, Schwarzenbergstr. 1-3, 1010 Vienna from
5.30pm.
Page 4
Growing herbs can be at the expense
of practice on the violin
I am an Irish/Australian in Vienna, but 29 km south in Baden, and am fulfilling a promised duty to contribute to this fab newsletter which I look forward to every month. Recently I planted my forlorn looking Basil in the garden (forlorn is probably taken directly from the German ‘verloren’: lost) and I was pleased today to see its leaves are a strong dark green and quite able for the southerly breeze that blows here. This breeze or actually wind, which quite often threatens to blow me off my bike on unassuming Kindergarten trips, is one serious contra to my otherwise pleasant life here. I generally find it wonderful living in Austria. It has so many similarities to my childhood in Melbourne and the high standard of living which we experienced in the 80´s. The good food, the responsible care that is taken of children are all here. The fact that “Who´s afraid of the Schwarzen Man” is still played in some Baden Kindergartens or that “Neger“ is still used amongst not so provincial locals gives reason for concern, but then Austria probably just needs another 20 years. Let me not start on the contras. I´m trying to stay pro in all things. It´s spring time! Renewal, youth, second chances abound. And so, to my Basil, which is accompanied by Lemon Melisse, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (anyone going to Scarborough Fair?) and my garden, to whom I intend turning my attention before the grass starts leaning on the trampoline mat and my little chickens (otherwise known as Fabian and Jamie; two dashing young Australian/Irish/Austrians) get attacked by the ZECK! I am, for an otherwise not very domestic musician and thinking Catholic (as opposed to practising; more next month perhaps…), rather proud of my horticultural attempts since moving to the suburbs. My friend John´s mother June, who is an avid member of the Nunawading Horticultural Society might be proud. Nunawading, Geelong, Mount Waverly, Kyneton, Mordialloc, Mentone‐ oh the places I miss, the flowers that bloom, the herbs that blow in a southerly breeze… I will mow the lawn. But not between 12 and 3pm. Even though I did it last year, once a week, punctually at 12.30 and couldn´t fathom the sour face of my neighbour, thinking it just her usual demeanour, for quite some time. Since learning the law of the ‘Mittags Ruhe’, I have learned to plan my mowing around family garden The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
activities later in the day (but my neighbour still looks the same) and I ask Fabi to lift the extension cord at regular intervals so he doesn´t double jump his brother on the trampoline. But still, there are the weeds. For the novice gardener among you (Rosalie Toomey not included) they are a true curse. I have tried to see their abundant beauty but have had to concede that they have none and that they must therefore be annihilated. Or plucked inefficiently by my little fingers and covered lazily, but hopefully, with a bit of bark. I am a violinist in the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic and it’s great, even if I play less frequently with them since having had children. And I should actually go and do some practice for the rehearsals coming up on the weekend. In this production we are playing a programme of Mendelsohn; a great early piano concerto with all the spirit and verve of a youthful, brilliant pianist, the Italian symphony with lots of lovely violinistic fiddly bits to get into, and a Haydn symphony which is always enjoyable. Taking off my weeding gloves however, I look at my two children rolling around on top of each other in the no longer long grass and think how I can get to my violin without leaving them to their own unreliable devices…. And then my dear husband comes through the garden gate! He looks around and puts down his bag to envelope his two boys, who have run to meet him, in his arms. Goody! I run to him too (today is a pro day after all, I have no complaints) and say “Hello Dear, great that you’re home. I´m gonna nick off and practice a little before dinner.” My husband, (an Austrian from Lungau and an engineer, a good opposite to me and musician‐ism) has made the rest of the garden glow with a lustrious sheen. He has planted red and black currents, aubergines, tomatoes, a pumpkin, gladiolies a la Dame Edna, an apple tree, a plum tree, and has asked me to please not mow the Irises over this year. I think I have actually seen a little purple tip arising from a couple of green shoots and I will, as a result, grant them immunity. Sin e! ( shin ey, Gaelic for “that´s it”) and I shall now, as my dear old dad used to say, leave you to it. Have a good June and may the force (of OZCON) be with you, Regards Orna Loughnane Page 5
Paddle a dinghy and share some jokes
in the Danube wetlands
Paddling a rubber dinghy in the Danube wetlands listening
to a cheery park ranger who has the sense of humour which
could qualify her as an Australian can be an excellent way
to pass a summer’s day.
Situated between Vienna and Bratislava, the Donau-Auen
National Park preserves the last remaining major wetlands
environment in Central Europe. Here, the Danube is still
free flowing and is the lifeline of the National Park. It
creates a habitat for numerous animals and plants, some of
which are rare species.
A visit to the park with a group from the UN Women’s
Guild was both entertaining and educational, thanks to our
guide who really knows her stuff. In fact, it is hard to get a
word in with ‘Beaver’ Barbara (a name she earned by
raising two beavers in her back yard).
'Beaver' Barbara, a guide with a sense of humour
Did you know that Australia has the second oldest national
park in the world? It is the Royal National Park just south
of Sydney, second only in age since declaration of the
Yellowstone in the US. Barbara has been to Australia
several times, as well as many other countries, and loves
showing ‘internationals’ around ‘her’ park.
She and her colleagues provide learning opportunities on
guided walking tours or on boats, especially for children.
With over 9,300 hectares, the Danube wetlands are home
to a wealth of species, including some endangered and
some extremely rare ones: more than 700 types of vascular
plants, more than 30 types of mammals, 100 types of
breeding birds, 8 reptile and 13 amphibian species, around
60 kinds of fish and thousands of invertebrates.
For a distance of just over 36 km, the Danube flows freely.
The dynamic rise and fall of water levels - sometimes up to
7 meters - mean that the wetlands landscape is constantly
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
recreated and reformed. In this way, the flow of the
Danube creates habitats for the large number of plants and
animals.
river is free-flowing
- the increasing amount of shipping is a major hazard
- and the water can be deceptively cold, causing cramps.
You need a car to get to the park which starts in the 22nd
District. It takes a good 30 to 40 minutes from Eβling
through Groβ-Enzersdorf, Wittau, Probstdorf and
Mannsdorf to Orth an der Donau where you turn right and
travel the short distance to the Danube.
The park is open from 15 March to 26 October,
Wednesdays to Sundays from 9 am to 5 pm.
If you want to arrange a trip for yourself and a group, you
can contact Barbara at: [email protected] Or
telephone her on +43.676.84223520.
A nature walk beside the river
Barbara carries with her a bag of bird calls and whistles
and can name most of the birds you will hear. She also has
two messages she likes to pass on to visitors. One is please
do not release other animals into the wetlands, especially
turtles.
This park is the last home of the small European Pond
Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in Austria and is a threatened
species. Barbara says people think that because it is an
environment that supports turtles, it is alright to release
other turtles, which might have been bought as pets but
grow to be large, into the wetlands. Such ‘foreign’ species
are usually larger and stronger than the pond turtle and are
a big threat to their continued existence.
There are tours and boat trips. The details are:
For tours: Adults €23, children/youth(between 6-19
years/students €16; children below 6 years are free. This is
for a 3 hour tour which combines both activities on land as
well as on dinghies in a side arm. Minimum number of 10
paying people (no matter if adults or children).
For boat trips. Usually children below an age of 15 are not
allowed on a trip on the Danube for safety reasons .
Definitely not for school groups. Costs for a 3 hour boat
trip on the Danube €25 and €17.
The second message is more relevant to most people. It is a
warning: don’t swim in the main river. Barbara is
amazed at the number of parents that allow their children
to swim in the river and points to two memorials on the
river bank as evidence that this can be folly.
Checking out some flora
If enough people are interested, OzCon can look into
arranging a visit. But you have to let us know.
One last thing. There is a nice fish restaurant at the river’s
edge called Humer’s Uferhaus. Try the Serbian-style baked
carp.
– Brett Bayly
Captain Barbara: we're not going straight
There are three main reasons not to swim in the Danube:
- the current is exceptionally strong, especially where the
Page 6
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
Phillip Prideaux introduced himself and his wife Cate
Martin in last month’s newsletter. Phillip writes a blog and
he thought this extract might interest our members.
Furniture delivery Austrian style
From our first weekend here we had bought oodles of stuff
from Interio which is a store that seems to have lots of
things that we like the look of.
Nothing had ever been delivered because nothing is ever
in stock – bits have to come from far flung places and be
assembled by the little elves in the Vienna Woods before
delivery can take place. The elves work on Austrian time
and have generous leave conditions.
We thought that there might be a frequent buyer scheme
and that you had to reach a certain threshold of purchases
before they would deliver anything - so we kept buying and
buying thinking that one day we will reach the magic
number and our ship will come in.
One weekend a few months after we started buying things
we thought we had got lucky and heard that some bits and
pieces were to be delivered. We were not sure what they
were because we last saw them a long while ago and had
forgotten completely what we had bought – and indeed
why we had bought them.
Delivery was to take place on Saturday between 9 and 10
(Austrian time) so at 10.45 I called Interio to enquire after
the fate of our delivery.
After negotiating my way past the first person who
answered the telephone I was put on hold. This consisted
of what could have been someone saying Herzlich
Wilkommen with their head in a bucket of water, followed
by a few bars of a Mozart concerto played backwards at
high speed and then what could have been the sounds of a
Kodiak Bear having its toes cut off one by one with
secateurs – it was hard to tell.
This went on for some time. But at least they don’t give you
this rubbish about valuing your call. They don’t want your
call and would prefer that you go and stick your head up a
dead bear’s bum rather than bother them with the
trivialities of your miserable furniture-less life.
I explained to the delivery person (#1) the nature of my
predicament and after some more bear torturing was
informed that the delivery man had been to the house and
had rung the doorbell and called us but that no one
answered so he had gone home.
I thought about this for a minute and then concluded that
as it was 11.00 he probably did mean home. The poor man
had started at 8.00 am and would have been exhausted by
then and desperately in need of sustenance and rest. I
explained that neither the doorbell or my phone had rung and negotiated my way around the delivery guy’s disbelief.
Page 7
I was stunned to receive another delivery slot on Monday –
I had expected late 2009. Clearly another customer had
died suddenly that morning and I had drawn their slot out
of a hat.
Fifteen minutes later I had a call from delivery man #2
saying that they had tried to deliver my furniture but that I
had not answered my door or phone. After patiently
explaining that neither doorbell or phone had rung I told
delivery guy #2 that I had already spoken to delivery guy
#1and had arranged a delivery for Monday.
This elicited a stunned silence followed by lengthy
questioning about the nature of the earlier conversation
and confirmation of every detail. Delivery guy #2 had
obviously not received the SMS about the tragic customer
death and my subsequent and very fortunate lottery win.
Fifteen minutes later delivery guy #2 called again (on the
phone that the delivery man – now home munching his
lunch – could not call). He said that because I had not
answered my door or Handy I was to be charged another
€40 for the delivery.
This was in effect a fine for not answering a doorbell and a
telephone that did not ring.
I had been in Austria for a week or so – so I knew how
these things work. I expressed surprise at the leniency
being shown to me for my heinous crime and suggested
that they were being far too generous. Perhaps a fine of
500 Euros might be more appropriate I suggested – after
all – I said – if you let me get away with this there will be a
whole raft of people out there not answering doorbells that
don’t ring.
That will not be necessary – he informed me. We are being
lenient because you are a first offender– but if this happens
again……………
Well I can just imagine what this will mean. Probably a
good beating followed by a stint in the stocks at
Stephansplatz. I certainly kept my ears peeled on Monday
because the chances of another Interio customer dying at
short notice were very remote indeed.
These hardy souls hang on with their last breath and just
will not expire until that sofa – ordered by Grandpa Gunter
in 1974 – comes through the door. Fortunately the 30 year
fashion cycle means that Interio clients are always at the
cutting edge of home fashion.
I was walking down the road when I
saw an Afghan friend standing on
a fifth floor balcony shaking a
carpet. I shouted up to him, "What's
up Abdul, won't it start?”
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
ONLY AUSSIES
Being Australian is about driving in a German car to
an Irish pub for A Belgian beer, then on the way
home, grabbing an Indian curry or A Turkish kebab,
to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American
shows
on
a
Japanese
TV.
Oh and..... Only in Australia ... Can a pizza get to
your
house
faster
than
an ambulance.
“Always eat your food slowly”.
Yes Mum
Hey Kids! Did your Mum tell you that you should
always eat your food slowly? It’s good for your
digestion. Well this snake sure took his time. It took
five hours to swallow this full-size goanna.
Only in Australia ... Do supermarkets make sick
people walk all the way to the back of the shop to
get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy
cigarettes
at
the
front.
Only in Australia ... Do people order double
cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.
Only in Australia ... Do banks leave both doors
open and chain the pens to the counters.
Only in Australia ... Do we leave cars worth
thousands of dollars in the driveway and lock our
junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.
NOT TO MENTION....
- 3 Aussies die each year testing if a 9v battery
works on their tongue.
- 58 Aussies are injured each year by using sharp
knives instead of screwdrivers.
- 31 Aussies have died since 1996 by watering their
Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged
in.
- 8 Aussies had serious burns in 2000 trying on a
new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.
- A massive 543 Aussies were admitted to
Emergency in the last two years after opening
bottles of beer with their teeth.
Yum. Slowly does it
A road worker in the desert of the Pilbara region in
remote Western Australia came across the snake
having lunch on the side of the road. So he stopped to
watch and when he saw how long it was going to take
he erected barriers around the snake so it would not
get run over.
And finally........
In 2000 eight Aussies cracked their skull whilst
throwing up into the toilet.
All done. Now off for a snooze
All of which begs the question…was the road worker
being paid to sit beside the road for five hours doing
nothing? Presumably so. It’s a big country out there.
Page 8
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
Aussie News Briefs
30 May - EMERGENCY services, footballers and
growing numbers of Victorians are preparing for the worst
as the state pig flu tally hit 138. All ambulance crews have
been ordered to wear full protective bodysuits when called
to any home or person with flu-like symptoms. And topof-the-ladder St Kilda had its players wear face masks as a
precaution on their flight to the Gold Coast . (Herald Sun)
26 May - FEDERAL Opposition Leader Malcolm
Turnbull yesterday called the Government's bluff on the
threat of a snap election, confirming he will try to delay a
vote on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill. Mr
Turnbull believes Australia should wait to see what the
Obama Administration does in the U.S. and what comes
from international negotiations at the UN climate change
talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. (Advertiser)
25 May - THE battlelines are being drawn between
grocery chains and the consumer advocacy group Choice
as it prepares to set up a website monitoring grocery prices
across the country. Choice's chief executive, Nick Stace,
will today write to supermarkets to confirm that the
Grocery Choice website will launch on July 1 as planned,
even if retailers fail to immediately provide all of the
information that has been requested. In recent meetings,
Woolworths, Coles and IGA have told Choice they will be
unable to provide the requested 3000 to 5000 individual
product prices from stores across their national networks
by July 1 due to the technology and cost involved.
(Brisbane Times)
Parts of Lismore flooded
22 May - PREMIER Nathan Rees has declared NSW's
north coast a natural disaster zone after severe storms
and flooding battered the region. The declaration will cover
Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Kyogle, Richmond
Valley and Clarence Valley local government areas.(AAP)
21 May - THE NSW north coast is copping a battering
from a storm which lashed southern Queensland - with
properties isolated, widespread blackouts and emergency
services forced to conduct flood rescues. Heavy rain has
Page 9
closed 200 schools and left thousands of houses without
power in northern NSW, as the wild weather drifted south
of the Queensland border. (Australian)
19 May - STAFF will examine children's lunchboxes to
ensure the contents are healthy, under new federal
guidelines. As part of a $4.5 million war on obesity,
parents will be discouraged from including unhealthy
sweets or processed savoury snacks. (Herald Sun)
18 May - THE Coalition has slashed Labor's lead and
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's popularity has fallen 10
points in an Age/Nielsen poll that also finds people don't
like the budget plan to raise the pension age. Although
most people believe the budget is fair and economically
responsible, fewer are happy than with last year's budget.
Significantly more (38 per cent) say they personally will be
worse off. Labor's two-party vote has fallen five points
since March to 53 per cent, while the Opposition has risen
five points to 47. The poll is a reality check for the
Government, and should scotch speculation about an early
election. (Age)
13 May - HOLOCAUST denier Fredrick Toben has been
sentenced to three months in jail for contempt of court. The
Federal Court this morning ordered Toben, 64, to be
imprisoned and pay legal costs after he continued to
publish offensive material on his website in breach of court
orders.. (Australian)
6 May - BRITISH charity fundraiser Ben Southall has
won the Best Job in the World competition. Picked from a
pool of 34,000 applicants from across the world, 34-yearold Southall was one of 16 finalists for the $150,000, sixmonth Hamilton Island caretaker job starting on July 1. He
will start his new role as caretaker of Hamilton Island on
July 1, being paid $150,000 to sail, snorkel and scuba dive
while promoting the island and the Great Barrier Reef to
tourists through an online blog. (AAP)
2 May - THE navy will acquire a formidable arsenal of
long-range cruise missiles for its new submarines,
destroyers and frigates, able to strike at targets thousands
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
of kilometres from Australia's shores. The new-generation
submarines and major surface warships will be fitted with
land-attack cruise missiles with ranges of up to 2500km as
Australia becomes the first regional defence force to have
the potent weapons system. The cruise missiles will give
the Government "options to conduct long-range, precisionstrike operations against hardened, defended and difficultto-access targets, while minimising the exposure of ADF
platforms and personnel to attack by enemy forces", the
defence white paper says. (Australian)
BUDGET COMMENT WARNS OF
DEBT AND TOUGH TIMES
Comment on the 2009 Budget was, as usual, mixed –
from “a budget for optimists” (Australian) to “debt
hanging around our necks” (Herald Sun). Overall,
however, the comment was favorable while warning
of years of deficits and more tough times ahead.
Here’s a summary:
Fighting strategy may need miracle
Paul Kelly in The Australian
THIS budget is a portrait of an optimist in the middle of a
nightmare. The world faces its worst economic contraction
since the Great Depression but Wayne Swan is a
convinced optimist who has produced a budget for
optimists. If Australia survives the current global recession
delivering only the modest savings identified yesterday,
then miracle will be a better label. The budget strategy is
strong on fiscal stimulus, moderate on medium-term
structural savings, confident that Australia will survive
better than other nations and grim in its depiction of the
long night of high unemployment, deficits and debt that will
forever define the Rudd Government.
Swan's sweet and sour Budget offering
Craig Johnson in the Courier Mail
IT'S a little off-putting but Dr Swan's Miracle Cure for the
ailing Australian economy promises to be less bitter than
other potions being administered overseas. But hold on, for
people funding their own retirement or relying on some
middle-class welfare to see them through to pensionable
old age, there's a nasty after-taste. They will have to work
longer and save harder to ease the pressure on a pension
and income-support system that is already groaning and
has yet to feel the full force of Baby Boomers retiring. For a
creation that was supposed to see us through the predicted
terrible year or so ahead, Treasurer Wayne Swan's second
Budget is more far sighted than many pundits expected.
Page 10
Good for Rann - with a hidden sting
Greg Kelton in The Advertiser
TREASURER Wayne Swan has given South Australia a
Budget which is good in parts - strong public transport
investment but nothing for the water crisis. Premier Mike
Rann would be over the moon with the announcement of
the funding for the Gawler rail line and the Seaford rail
extension. The real sting in the tail for SA is the huge cuts
in GST revenue.
Unpopular decisions can wound, but are not
necessarily fatal
Michelle Grattan in The Age
IT IS a delicate balancing act between present and future,
spending and saving, giveaways and take-aways. This
budget aims to stimulate the economy now, while clawing
in money later. It's a very Labor budget, with the recession
giving the Government both incentive and cover to make
investments and reforms that it wants but which would
have been difficult in the good times. Its risks are that it
spends too much, so debt becomes too heavy a burden.
That's what the Opposition will say. The Government will
reply that the spending takes debt to only about 13 per
cent of GDP in 2014, modest compared with comparable
countries.
Rudd has lost his boldness and roar
Peter Hartcher in Sydney Morning Herald
A deficit is a good thing in bad times, but only if you cut
spending once recovery starts. The Rudd Government has
responded to the recession like a lion, but the budget
reveals that it is retreating from it like a lamb. The
Government loves to tell us that it was "early and decisive"
in splurging taxpayers' money to ward off recession. True.
And now we see that it plans to be slow and timid in
bringing the budget back under control again. In fact, the
Rudd Government is so timid that Australia will still be
carrying a debt overhang in 10 years' time, according to
the budget papers.
Rudd wants you to work harder ... and longer
Malcolm Farr in Daily Telegraph
THE Rudd Government slashed the retirement hopes of
millions of workers last night by demanding they toil harder
and for longer. The Budget delivered by Treasurer Wayne
Swan revealed that the pension age for all will be
increased from 65 to 67, the first major change for men in
100 years. This will dramatically alter welfare in this
country by switching priority from families to the elderly.
Only workers over 50 can expect to retire at 65, the age set
for men since 1909.
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
SECURITY ALERTS
It's manana from Kevin
Andrew Bolt in Herald Sun
THIS Budget is classic Kevin Rudd. Spin, populism, bold
predictions and even bolder promises that he won't even
try to keep until manana. But now there's a difference. Now
the bills are just starting to come in. And the trust in this
merchant of spin must surely start to run out. That includes
trust in his predictions that recovery will soon rescue us
from this debt he's hanging around our necks.
--Brett Bayly
CLASSIFIEDS
SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOME
For assistance with renting or buying a property in
Vienna contact our member DIANA BOAL, who
works as a real estate agent.
mobile: 0699 1 747 4114
e-mail: [email protected]
ENGLISH NATIVE SPEAKERS NEEDED
Are you an English Native Speaker or do you have
qualifications to teach English to kids and teens
or/and adults in individual and/or group sessions?
If the answer is yes, then we may have the job for
you!
iBiku is a Language Institute looking for
enthusiastic Native Speakers to join our pool of
Trainers to train English to kids from pre-school
age, to kids at primary and high schools and to
adults with a need for learning as either a personal
development and/or for work purposes.
We are based in St Pölten, but provide our services
all over Austria.
If this type of work appeals to you, please contact
iBiku at [email protected] or by phone on 02742
77561.
Ireland 's worst air disaster occurred
early this morning when a small twoseater Cessna plane crashed into a
cemetery.
Irish search and rescue workers have
recovered 1826 bodies so far and expect
that number to climb as digging continues
into the night.
Page 11
The British are feeling the pinch in relation to
recent terrorist threats in Islamabad and have
raised their security level from “Miffed” to
“Peeved”. Soon, though, security levels may be
raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit
Cross”. Brits have not been “A Bit Cross” since
the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran
out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from
“Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance”. The last
time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance”
warning level was during the great fire of
1666.
Americans meanwhile are carrying our preemptive strikes on all of their allies, just in
case.
And at a local level....
New Zealand has also raised its security levels
– from “baaa” to “BAAAA!”. Due to continuing
defence cutbacks (the Air Force being a
squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper
aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the
Prime Minister’s bath), New Zealand only has
one more level of escalation, which is “Shut, I
hope Australia will come end rescue us”. In the
event of invasion, New Zealanders will be
asked to gather together in a strategic
defensive position called “Bondi”.
Australia meanwhile, has raised its security
level from “No Worries” to “She’ll be right
mate”. Three more escalation levels remain:
“Crikey!”, “I think we’ll need to cancel the
barbie this weekend” and “The barbie is
cancelled”. There has not been a situation yet
that has warranted the use of the final
escalation level (except for some Aussies in
Vienna).
A man walked into the doctors.
He said, "I've hurt my arm in several
places."
The doctor said, "Well don't go to
those places."
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
Performances with Australian Artists and other events
From the Australian Events Calendar, Australian Embassy Vienna
8 June at 5pm
The Harry
Seidler Rooms
Australian Embassy
Mattiellistrasse 2
1040 Vienna
RSVP: 01 5067 4165 or
Email: [email protected]
Ambassador Peter Shannon
wishes to invite OzCon
members to the official
opening of the Harry Seidler
Rooms.
15 June Artists
workshop
20 June opening of
exhibition
“Mut Zur
Lücke” Art
Project
Marktgemeinde Falkenstein
Markstrasse 60
2162 Falkenstein
Ph: 02554 85340
www.falkenstein.gv.at
Contact: Birgit Robl-Luckner
at [email protected]
Maria Ruckenstuhl at
[email protected]
Australian Sally Duncan
will be participating at the
“Mut zur Luecke” art
project. Further details closer
to the time.
16 – 20 June
16 June 10pm –
“The Key to the
Mystic Halls of
Time”
18 June 10pm –
“Flip”
19 June 8pm – “The
Code”
Exhibition running
until 5 July
International
Comedy Short
Film Festival
“11/22”
Comedy-theatre “Kulisse”
Rosensteingasse 39
1170 Vienna
Email: [email protected]
Satire, slapstick, surprising
punchlines: this year’s
Vienna Comedy Short Film
Festival will be featuring
three entries from Australia.
Diary of a
Journal
Galerie mango tango
Hernalser Hauptstrasse 50
1170 Vienna
www.omarte.at
Austrian artist “Omar” will
be exhibiting his collection
of works entitled “burning
Australia” at the Galerie
“mango tango”
Page 12
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009
Unless otherwise specified, all telephone numbers
are in Vienna
Australian Connection (OzCon)
Website: www.ozcon.at
Email: [email protected]
President: Brett Bayly
Tel: 06991 264 5813
Home: 264 5813
[email protected]
Vice President: Gabrielle Costigan
Phone: 0664 61 22522
[email protected]
Secretary: Amanda Grant
Phone: 2711027
[email protected]
Treasurer and Membership Coordinator
Susanna Martin-Murtinger
Tel: H: 944 0353
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Liz Crawford
Mobile: 0699 1268 1023
Home: 02252 252 638
[email protected]
Bank Account Details:
Susanna Martin-Murtinger
OZCON Account
Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederosterreich – Wien
BLZ 32000
Kontonummer (Account Number): 12.097.176
Membership Fee: €20
Australian Embassy
Mattiellistrasse 2-4, 1040 Vienna
Tel: 506740
www.australian-embassy.at
Useful Websites:
www.ethermagazine.at
www.viennareview.net
www.nucolorvue.com.au
www.australien-lifestyle.de
www.australien-info.de
www.virtualvienna.net
www.ninemsn.com.au
www.kids-days.com/Wien/index_wien.html
www.expat-consulting.com
www.homesick.com.au
www.viennababiesclub.com
www.abc.net.au/vod/news/
www.australianaonline.com.au
www.news.com.au
www.expatriates.com
www.australia.gov.au
www.amadeus.net/home/dialing_codes/en/top.htm
Guided Walks
Places of Human Rights, Shadow of the Past
Schonberg and Freud
Roman Findings in Carnuntum and the National Park
More information visit: www.viennawalks.at
The Old City of Vienna
The Third Man
More information visit: www.wienguide.at
Other Associations
Austrian-Australian Society (OAG)
Hubert Heine, General Secretary
Tel: 0676 5003058; 9847328
[email protected]
www.australia-austria.at
Women’s Career Network (WCN)
Tel: 9662925
[email protected]
www.wcnvienna.com
Helpful Tips Living in Vienna
Published by the AWA
Contact AWA for stockists
Handbook Vienna (FREE!)
Published by Austria Today
[email protected]
Page 13
The Australian Connection (OzCon) – June 2009